New Beginnings - TWDG OneShot
by GoofyGomez
Summary: AU where Duck never got bitten and has stuck by Clementine through thick and thin. Once they get to Ericson's, they debate on the best course of action from now on. Rated T for strong language and depiction of violence.
1. Part 1

Clementine jerked awake with a start, breathing heavily and looking around. _It was just a nightmare_ , she thought ruefully. They'd started coming back a week ago, but that didn't make them any less bearable. She turned to her left and almost jumped out of her bed when she saw him: Duck was kneeling beside her bed, staring at her with concern written on his hard features.

"God, Duck, you scared the shit out of me," she exclaimed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and sitting up, "How long have you been there?"

"Not long," he informed her, his gruff voice serenading her. It always had that soothing effect on her whenever she had nightmares, "I heard you thrashing in your sleep, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well, thanks," she said, nodding and smiling at him. "I'm just shaky, that's all."

She studied his features as she slowly woke from her slumber. He had been trying to grow a beard for the past month, though unsuccessfully. The only thing he'd managed to grow was a tiny patch on his chin, and Clem had teased him mercilessly about it. Kenny's hat was still on his head, a token of respect for his late father. He was still wearing the same jacket he'd had since arriving at the school, and his trusty rifle was safely strapped to his back.

"You need to clean that shirt, Duck," she suggested, inspecting the blood stains on his chest.

"Yeah, I know mom," he said, rolling his eyes and standing up with a smile. "And my name is Kenny, Clem." Their dynamic over the years had been quite interesting, Clem would always think.

Ever since Katjaa's Lee's deaths, Duck started breaking out of his childish self, and started maturing. He realized the effect Lee's death had been having on Clementine, and he switched into the Big Brother role immediately. He became very protective of her over time, especially after Omid's death and Christa's disappearance.

His reunion with Kenny had been one of the most beautiful things Clementine had seen, and it had broken her heart when, barely four weeks later, he'd been forced to shoot him. Kenny was too far gone; the deaths of Katjaa and Sarita looming over him, and Duck always regretted not seeing it sooner. Despite their disagreements, they'd become quite close during their short time back together, to the point where Kenny even taught him to shoot a rifle; the same one he carried around everywhere he went.

He'd become quite hardened after that, deep set on keeping on the move as much as they could, much to AJ's dismay. Ever since Kenny's death, they've never had a place to call home for more than two weeks, but Duck would always argue that 'a static group is a dead group'.

Clementine followed him out of their room and immediately ran into AJ, who was waiting outside the door. She smiled at the boy and kissed his forehead tenderly, "Hey there, goofball," she said.

"Hey Clem," he greeted, sparing a smile for his older brother, "You know I don't like goofball."

"Don't try to fight her, little man, she likes to stick to nicknames," he warned, earning a punch on the shoulder from Clem.

"Can't I be motherly?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure you can, just not with your big brother," he told her, "remember I'm older than you," he reminded her.

As they walked out into the courtyard, they spotted Marlon, Violet and Louis chatting absently on one of the benches. "You're only a year older, Duck," she argued, crossing her arms.

"Remind me again what year you were born in?" he teased, tipping her hat upwards. So far, he was the only person she had ever let touch her hat without permission, and he always took advantage of that fact.

"1994," she muttered, looking away.

"Exactly, and as someone born in 1993, I am much older than you; your elder, even," he puffed out his chest, making AJ chuckle and Clem roll her eyes. That was his argument for most discussions, she thought ruefully.

"Whatever, Duck," she teased, flicking her finger and making Duck's hat fall off his head.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" he lowered his voice, trying to sound menacing, but Clementine saw right through him. Her features contorted in laughter while Duck was left awkwardly looking at her.

Before Duck could come up with another response, they were interrupted by Louis and Violet sliding into view. Though Louis was pretty tall himself, Duck still towered over him, and the rifle he held on his back made him look older than he was.

"What are we laughing about?" asked Louis innocently, looking between Clem and Duck.

Duck took his opportunity to embarrass her back and said, "Oh nothing, we were just remembering when Clem and I visited this dairy farm and found this amazing salt lick," he told them, stopping Clem in her tracks and causing her to glare at him with squinted eyes.

"You said you'd stop doing that," she reminded him, tapping her foot while the other two teens looked on in confusion.

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?" said Louis, clearly trying to insert himself into the conversation while Violet stood silently studying Clementine's reactions.

Duck started walking towards the benches, and the group followed him, AJ sticking to Duck like glue. After they'd sat down and gotten comfortable, he explained, "See, when they told us what it was, we were curious. Why is it called a salt lick?" he said it like he was wondering about the existence of alien life.

"Okay, enough," exclaimed Clem, shushing Duck immediately with her powerful glare. No matter how much taller or older Duck was than Clem, she always had a way to command a great amount of respect into Kenneth Jr.

"I wondered what it tasted like, so I licked it, okay?" she admitted, watching Louis's and Violet's expressions carefully. They tried to remain nonchalant about it, "It was gross, and now Duck will never let me forget it," she said, gesturing to a very smug looking Duck.

At that point, Louis and Violet could hold it in no longer, and burst out laughing. Duck shrugged at Clementine, who looked down, defeated. Instead of sulking, she decided to do what she and Duck had agreed upon when they got here. She waited for the laughter to die down before asking,

"So," she started, getting their attention, "Are we the first people that have come by this place?" she directed the question at Violet, since Louis seemed to still be wrapped in the whole saltlick fiasco.

"More or less," said Violet, "We've had some stragglers come close and sometimes trade with us, but you're the first we've ever brought back from outside."

"Well that makes me feel so fuzzy inside," said Duck sarcastically, "You've seriously not met with anyone else from the outside?"

"Why would we?" this time Louis spoke up, "we've got everything we need here, and we use the woods and the stream as our food source."

"And this 'safe zone' you guys have, Marlon showed it to me," he informed them, "isn't it a little small?"

"I've been trying to convince Marlon to expand it, but he keeps pulling it back," Violet scoffed, making Louis frown.

"He's just looking out for us, Vi," he tried to argue, but Duck wasn't convinced. He looked at Clem, and they had one of their mental conversations. Duck nodded, and Clem was the one to speak next.

"What Duck here means," she explained, making Duck flinch at the use of the nickname, "is that we want to make sure you guys know what you're doing."

"And that shitbird in the admin building isn't doing the best job on the food department, now is he?" he said bluntly, jabbing a finger over his shoulder to the building in question.

Louis and Violet were taken aback by the sudden outburst, but didn't correct him. They knew their food situation was deplorable, and they couldn't deny it. Since Clem and Duck had arrived, they'd been able to gather some more supplies than usual, although their going out of the safe zone hadn't sat well with Marlon.

Duck sighed and turned to his sister, in all ways but one, "Clem, do you mind if I talk to you in private?" he said.

Clementine nodded and instructed AJ to stay with Violet and Louis while she followed Duck to a secluded part of the courtyard. He made sure no one could eavesdrop on them before saying, "Clem, what the hell are we doing here? We should get the fuck out of here!" he said it a little louder than he meant to, but luckily no one was within earshot.

Clementine sighed, weighing their options. There was only one thing that mattered more than everything else: AJ. In the past months, they'd been running on fumes in regards to food, and the little kid was not eating well, even when Clem or Duck shared their rations with him.

"I think we should try to give it a chance," she started, and was almost cut off by the older boy before she held up a hand, "before you say anything, think about AJ. We've barely enough to feed him as it is, and I don't think you've been eating well lately," she said, looking him up and down in a motherly fashion.

"I've – AJ is more important," he muttered, looking down at his feet with tired eyes.

"You can't keep giving up food, Duck," he still didn't meet her eyes, " _Kenny,_ " she said finally.

At that moment, he looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I know you're right, Clem. I just have a bad feeling about this place," he told her, looking around the courtyard.

"Let's just give it time," she suggested, "we can help these kids. They probably don't even know how good they have it here."

"I'm guessing they think this is a fucking picnic, right?" he snapped, frustrated. That was something else he'd gotten from his dad: his short temper. "Sorry, I shouldn't yell at you," he apologized, running his hands over his face.

"It's okay," she said, placing an affectionate hand on his forearm. "Right now, our number one priority is AJ, and if this place can protect him while we get a steady supply of food, it deserves a chance."

"I guess," he muttered, looking over his shoulder at Louis, who was now entertaining AJ by making faces. "He seems to be taking a liking to that guy, Louis was it?" he added warily.

"That's right," she said, nodding and looking behind him to where Louis sat. She studied his features: chocolate brown eyes alight with joy, dirty trench coat hanging loosely like it was still a few sizes too big for him, and a piercing smile that seemed to emanate a light that was not usually found in the apocalypse.

"Hello? Earth to Clementine," Duck was snapping his fingers in front of her, raising an eyebrow. She blinked rapidly and looked back at him, a grin tugging at his lips.

"What are you smiling at, doofus?" she questioned.

"Getting a little crush, are we?" he teased, crossing his arms and imitating her usual posture.

"I am not," she defended herself, looking down in embarrassment.

"I don't like it," he said simply, dropping his grin.

"There's nothing _to_ like, Duck," she reminded him, trying and failing to hide the blush that crept up her cheeks.

"Please, I see the way you've been staring at him for the past week," he said, "and I'd have to be an idiot not to notice that he stares back. Rather blatantly, if I might add," he teased.

"Clem, do you remember the last time you had a crush on someone?" he said slowly, raising his eyebrows.

"You told him to back off or you'd break his legs, yeah I remember it," she scoffed, remembering the face of terror on Gabe's face when an almost six foot tall Duck had threatened him with a hunting rifle in hand. "You do know I can take care of myself, don't you?"

"I know you can," he assured her, raising his hands in defense, "I just don't know if buddy boy over there can."

"What, you think he'll get me killed if I kiss him?" she questioned, her voice dangerously low.

"You know that's not what I mean," he tried to defuse her, "I just don't trust him," he finally said, shrugging.

"Duck, we have trusted no one but each other for how long?"

"A little over eight years," he replied, curious as to where she was going with that.

"And look where that's got us. We totaled our only car, we've been starving ourselves trying to keep AJ alive and we haven't slept well since the incident at the ranch."

"But –," he started.

"No, hear me out," she cut him off, "I'm not saying you should blindly trust them, or even give me your blessing to go after Louis, but at some point we're going to have to open ourselves to certain people who might be able to help us."

"But look what trusting other people has gotten us," he retorted, his deep voice rising in his anger, "Look where it got Luke, Nick, Walter! The safest route is to stay on our own, like it's always been, just you and me and AJ."

Looking around at the courtyard, Clem could tell they were drawing unwanted attention, so he pulled him farther into the bushes and brought him down to her level.

"Look Duck, I love you, but you're being an idiot," she told him bluntly, making him do a double take. "I won't let AJ's blood be on our hands if he starves to death, which is exactly what will happen if we don't trust these people and work together in getting a steady food supply."

"We've dealt with worse hands than this, haven't we?" she questioned, to which he nodded slowly, the fight leaving him steadily, "And we will deal with this situation, which is not as bad as you're making it out to be. Sure, Marlon can be a 'shitbird' but it's a hell of a lot better than out there on the road."

Duck weighed her words carefully before lowering his head in defeat, "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," she said, grabbing his hat and ruffling his curly hair, "Don't worry, if things go to shit-,"

" _When_ things go to shit," he corrected, making her roll her eyes.

"Alright, when things go to shit, we'll grab AJ and get the hell out of here. Maybe even drive to Florida and get that boat you're always yammering on about," she promised.

Duck seemed to brighten up at the prospect, and let out a sigh. "Okay, I'll play along for now. But don't expect me to get all lovey-dovey with Vanilla Ice over there," he warned, pointing with his thumb in Louis's direction.

"Leave that to me, then," she said nonchalantly, kissing his cheek and leaving him to ponder her last words alone.

"You are a piece of work, Clementine Everett," he called out to her, making her chuckle as she approached the table and rejoined AJ and the rest.


	2. Part 2

"Keep your eyes peeled, people!"

Duck called out to the group as they traipsed through a patch of tall grass. Clem was at his side, a knife in her hand and her trusty hat on her head, while Duck held his hunting rifle at the ready, scanning the trees for danger. Behind them, Violet and Louis followed close by, keeping a short distance between them.

"Roger that, boss," Louis exclaimed, heaving his chair leg and nodding excitedly at Duck.

"God, does he ever shut up?" Duck whispered to Clem, who smiled.

"Hey, cut them some slack," she admonished, "they've been living behind walls their whole lives, they haven't seen the things we have."

"Still, you'd think he'd take leaving the zone seriously," muttered Duck, cutting down the last of the ferns with his own knife.

Clem chose not to answer, and so they stayed silent as they got closer to their destination. Earlier that day, Duck had had a rather heated discussion with Marlon about their food situation now that three more mouths had been added to the school's ranks. After at least an hour of arguing, Marlon finally let Duck take a small hunting party outside the zone to search for supplies in a small nearby town.

After twenty minutes of walking, they arrived at the edge of a high wooden fence, over which the roofs of several houses could be glimpsed. Louis and Duck helped Clementine and Violet over and then helped each other up.

"This should be good," declared Duck, raising the barrel of the rifle in front of him and taking long, slow steps toward the back of the house.

"So, Duck, how come you know so much about this stuff?" asked Louis suddenly. "Was your dad Special Forces or something?"

Duck cringed at the mention of his father, and closed his eyes for a moment before answering, "I've just had to adapt to the circumstances. And my name isn't Duck, it's Kenny," he added bluntly, glancing over his shoulder.

"Then why does Clem call you that?" Louis responded before he could stop himself, earning a glare from Violet.

"I've known her for eight years," Duck explained, "She could call me shitbird if she wanted to," he said simply.

"Ah, gotcha," said Louis, awkwardly glancing at Violet, who rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously, could you be any more insensitive?" she whispered to him while Clem helped Duck force the back door open.

"I'm just curious, Vi," he defended himself, "how many times have we met people from the outside?" he asked rhetorically, looking around the backyard in search for something useful to take.

When they got it open, Clem went first. She had her knife out in front of her and advanced slowly, turning her head only inches to either side, keeping her eyes trained in front of her. While she did that, Duck held his rifle aimed high over her head, scanning the room's flanks.

Louis and Violet shared a look as they entered behind them. "Wow, you seem pretty good at that," Violet commented.

Duck was about to retort something, but Clem caught his eye and raised her eyebrow. "Thanks," was all he said, shooting a fleeting glance in Clementine's direction.

After that, they set themselves to search the house thoroughly. Once they had confirmed the absence of walkers or people, they ransacked the place looking for supplies. Although the coast was clear, they still thought it best to go in pairs in case something happened. Duck went to Clem's side at once, but Louis spoke up at that moment.

"Hey, how about we pair up amongst ourselves?" he suggested.

"What do you mean?" asked Duck gruffly, eyeing the dreaded boy up and down.

"Well, since you're staying with us indefinitely, I think it would be good to get used to one another," he explained, "so why don't you go with Vi, and I'll go with Clem."

Duck looked like he was about to refuse, but Clem cut him off, "I think that's a great idea, Louis. Right Duck?" she added, glancing at Duck from the corner of her eye with a small grin on her face.

Rolling his eyes, Duck muttered, "Sure, why not?"

And with that, the two pairs went in separate directions, Clem and Louis taking the upstairs part of the house. The walls here were a deep purple, lined with a number of portraits of a family of four. The previous owners of the house stared blankly at them from their frames as they passed them by. They entered what looked like the master bedroom.

At first glance, it didn't look like much. A king-sized bed stood in the middle, with two simple bedside tables on either side. On a wardrobe to their left were more pictures, long forgotten and covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Well, at least we know no one's been here yet," said Clem, checking the right side of the room and opening drawers as she went by.

"How do you figure that?" asked Louis, who was looking under the bed.

"Well, if there's dust everywhere, that means none of this has been disturbed," she explained, "and the owners may have left something worthwhile."

"You're pretty good at this," Louis complimented, making Clem's cheeks flush. Fortunately, he was still busy elsewhere, so he didn't notice her blush.

"Thanks," she said finally, "I've had to learn this stuff the hard way," she added under her breath.

"I can't imagine what you guys have been through," said Louis apologetically, now looking at her with a frown.

"We've managed," Clem dismissed with a shrug, shaking open a wooden box that was sitting atop the wardrobe. "Duck has kept me sane, mostly."

"How'd you guys meet?" he asked as they left the room, sadly empty handed, and forced the door to another open. This time, it was one of the kids' rooms.

Clem worked silently on opening an old trunk at the base of the bed before answering, "We met on the first day. He was with his family, and I was with Lee," she added sadly, looking down at her hands.

An awkward silence fell upon them as they searched. Louis searched for the right words, sensing the sensitive topic.

"I take it Lee wasn't your dad?" he said slowly, his brow dropping when he noticed her flinch.

"He was the person who found me when I was all alone in my tree house," she told him, "He protected me for as long as he could," she said trailing off and silently checking the trunk's contents. Lucky for them, she found a pack of batteries and a stack of candy bars stashed at the bottom. _Thank God for preservatives,_ thought Clem.

Louis stopped what he was doing to turn and stared at Clem's back while she kneeled in front of the trunk. "What – What happened to him, if you don't mind me asking?" he said slowly.

Clem stayed silent for a moment, weighing his words carefully. She hadn't thought about Lee in some time, and although it was a sad topic she was always glad when her protector swam into her memories. But then she remembered a very important detail, and her mood turned sour.

"What happens to everyone. He died," she said bitterly, looking down and slowly turning to face him.

When Louis met her eye, his heart dropped. Although her expression was neutral, a single tear had escaped her eye, and Louis's eyebrows shot up, "Oh fuck, I'm sorry," he said quickly rushing to her side and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't have said anything. _Stupid Louis_!" he chastised himself.

Clem placed her hand on top of his and chuckled, "It's okay, Louis," she assured him, nodding, "It's just hard sometimes, to remember him."

"I can't even imagine," he admitted, looking away in embarrassment as they continued their search.

While Louis and Clem were having a heart-to-heart upstairs, Duck and Violet kept to themselves as they worked. They were efficiently sweeping the living room and kitchen, gathering a small box of miscellaneous supplies and a crate of canned goods that had been stashed in an already broken down freezer. Once they loaded the last of the cans, Duck nodded at Violet.

"We make a pretty good team," he said, smiling.

"I guess we do," she replied warily, eyeing the cans and looking around for anything else they could grab.

Awkwardly, Duck scratched the back of his head while he followed her lead. Though they said nothing, the tense atmosphere lingered for a few minutes before Violet broke the silence.

"So, Kenny," she started, taking the young man's attention from a pack of expired meat. "How are Clem and you not together?" she asked suddenly, making Duck do a double take.

"Uh, excuse me?" he blurted, frowning.

"You two seem pretty tight, but you guys don't act like a couple," she explained nonchalantly, standing on her tiptoes to reach a tall shelf that seemed to contain yet another can for the pile, "Which leads me to believe you're not one."

From behind her, Duck stood tall and easily grabbed the can, handing it to her with squinted eyes. "She's like a sister to me, I've never looked at her like that," he told her simply, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm just saying, she's cute," she told him, shrugging for a second before realizing what she'd said and widening her eyes.

Duck let out a snort of laughter and smiled cheekily at her, "If you say so," he said, his deep voice getting somehow lower.

"If you tell anyone, I'll kill you," she warned, seemingly shortening the height difference suddenly.

"Hey, it's not me you should be worrying about," he raised his hands defensively, "I get a bad feeling that my 'little sister' might have eyes for someone else, though," he added bitterly, looking up.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, confusion written on her face. "You mean Louis?" she said incredulously.

"Unfortunately, yeah," he muttered, crossing his arms, "but she's made it perfectly clear that she can take care of herself, and I am not to meddle in her life, as she would put it," Duck said, taking another can and cursing when he found it half opened and its contents rotten.

This time, it was Violet's turn to laugh. She had a throaty laugh, Duck noticed, which seemed to fit her mysterious persona. "You scared of your little sister?" she teased, tipping his hat slightly upwards.

"I'm not, I –," he started, but was cut off by a clang of metal on wood, and cursing coming from somewhere inside the house. They both looked at each other and nodded, Violet unsheathing her cleaver and Duck cocking his rifle. They slowly crept forwards and peeked through the gap on the door.

Duck could see nothing from this angle, but could hear at least two people talking. He looked back at Violet and raised two fingers, followed by a fist. She seemed to understand, and they opened the door slowly, tiptoeing in the direction of the voices.

When they got to the living room, they saw them: A man and a woman were trying to reach the top of a shelf at the base of the stairs, on top of which was a box of possibly useful things. They had their backs turned to them. The man was rather short, with black curly hair and a denim shirt. His pants were covered in blood; whose blood, Duck couldn't tell, but the man himself seemed to be mostly unharmed.

The woman, on the other hand, was taller than her partner. She could almost reach the top of the shelf standing on her tiptoes, and her jeans were a size or two too short for her. She wore her brown hair in a bun behind her head, and a tan leather jacket to shield her from the cold autumn chill. Duck looked around and saw that they had left a handgun on the coffee table, and there was a large hunting knife sticking out of a sheath on the man's belt.

Duck aimed his weapon at the back of the man's head, and removed the safety deftly. The soft clicking sound alerted the couple, who turned abruptly scrambling for their weapons.

"Uh, uh," said Duck before they could reach for the handgun on the table. "That's not happening, missy," she directed it at the woman, who raised her hands carefully and pursed her lips.

"Please, just let us go," pleaded the man, his voice sweet and mellow. Looking at his face now, Duck estimated the man must be in his late twenties, though a few white hairs tipped his perfectly trimmed goatee, "We didn't know anyone was here."

"Funny, I thought the same thing myself," said Duck, dangerously low. Violet looked to her left and stared in awe at Duck's determination. His unwavering tone and pulse was unnerving, she thought.

"We don't want trouble." This time it was the woman speaking, her voice gravelly and low. A smoker, Duck gathered.

"Neither do we," Violet put in, still clutching her cleaver in her right hand. Unlike Duck, her pulse was starting to shake.

"Who are you?" commanded Duck, still pointing his rifle between the man's eyes.

"I'm Sam," said the man, "and this here is my wife Miranda," he gestured to the woman, who nodded.

"You got a group?" asked Duck, squinting as his eyes darted between the couple.

"No," blurted Miranda, eyeing the barrel of the rifle with a frown, "We're alone. We were just passing through, and figured we could scavenge some supplies for the road. We didn't know you guys would be in here, honestly."

"Kenny, I think they're telling the truth," Violet whispered to Duck, and shook his head.

"We can't take that chance," was all he said, cocking his rifle.

Before he could pull the trigger, Violet grabbed the barrel, "No, Kenny!" she told him, "We should let them go and we get on our way."

"I'm sorry, how many times have you been in this situation?" he asked her bluntly, never taking his eyes off Sam.

"I, uh," she stuttered, "Never," she admitted.

"Well, I have," he reminded her, "And trust me, I wish there was another way."

Before they could continue their impromptu conversation, Clem's voice could be heard coming down the stairs, "Duck?" she asked as she got to the base of the stairs, "What's going –."

She was cut off by Sam darting forward and forcibly grabbing the knife from her left hand. He held her up in a chokehold, keeping the knife's edge close to her throat as she thrashed. Louis came down a second later and was tripped by Miranda, who grabbed his chair leg off the floor. Louis scrambled to his feet and stared in shock at the scene.

"You let her go, damn it!" Duck yelled, aiming his rifle at Sam with murder in his eyes. "You let her go, or I swear to God –."

"What will you do, kid?" Sam cut him off, increasing the pressure on Clem's neck and preventing her from fighting him off. "Now, you will let us go on our merry way, or I will cut her throat faster than you can say 'walker'," he warned, shaking his head when Violet raised her cleaver instinctively.

Although Violet lowered her weapon, Ducks eyes and gun were still steadfastly glued to the man holding Clementine hostage. They were at an impasse, Duck realized ruefully.

Suddenly, Clem spoke up with choked breaths, "Let him kill me, then take these fuckers out," she commanded Duck, her hands still clinging to her neck.

Violet and Louis shared a bewildered look at the request, but Duck shook his head determinedly. "Clementine, you know very well I won't do that!" he reminded her, shifting his aim from Sam to Miranda, and then back to Sam.

"It's the only way, he'll kill me anyway," she breathed, her captor still holding her locked in position.

"Look, I don't want to kill her," said Sam suddenly, "only thing you need to do is let us go, and everyone goes home happy, understand?"

All the while, Miranda had her eyes trained on Violet and Louis, threatening to swing 'Chairles' in their direction should they make any sudden moves. But their focus was on the exchange between Duck and Sam, now bartering for Clementine's life and the couple's freedom.

"And who's to say you won't just slice her throat anyway, shitbird," Duck shot back, venom in his words as he held his ground in perfect stance.

"Because if I did, you'd surely shoot me, wouldn't you?" Sam said, "And that's not what anybody wants here, is it?"

Duck thought for a moment, before training his eyes on Clementine's. For a split second, they had one of their mental conversations, which involved Duck blinking twice and Clem nodding at him. They didn't really have a code, but years together had forged a special bond that transcended words and signals.

"Alright, just don't hurt her," said Duck suddenly, slowly lowering his rifle. He kept his eyes fixed on Clem as he did so.

"That's more like it, bo –," Sam started, but was cut off by Clem raising her left leg and thrusting her boot into Sam's shin. When he recoiled, Clementine swiftly ducked down while Duck raised his rifle and fire two shots in quick succession. Still accurate as ever, both his bullets found Sam and Miranda, and the couple dropped to the floor, dead.

Duck raced forward and grabbed Clem by the shoulders as she rubbed her neck, trying to gulp some much needed air into her lungs. Louis was the first to break free from the spell.

"What the fuck was that?" he exclaimed, "I thought we were letting them go," he said, looking at the couple with a bewildered expression.

"Believe me Louis, they weren't going to let us go," said Clem, regaining her composure.

"And they would have killed us before letting us get away with this stuff," Duck added, gesturing to the box of supplies in the adjacent room. "Those shitbirds deserved what they got."

Violet and Louis shared a concerned look as the four of them gathered the supplies they'd collected. Duck kneeled and searched the couple for extra supplies.

"Dude, come on," pleaded Louis, looking away.

"What? They won't be needing this stuff, right?" Duck reasoned, finding five 9mm bullets in Sam's back pocket. He then took the handgun and the knife, and tucked them safely in his back pockets. They exited the house with five boxes full of useful stuff and, most importantly, enough canned food to last them a while.

"At least this trip wasn't a total waste of time," said Duck as they hauled the boxes over the fence.

"I guess you could say that," replied Clem, heaving the last one into his arms.

"I got it," he told her, nodding.

They walked back to the school in silence, though Louis seemed to think lifting the tension with jokes was a great idea. No one else thought so, and after the fourth unanswered riddle, he stopped, awkwardly looking down at the box in his hands.

Once they got back, the first thing Clem did was search for AJ, who she found in the courtyard drawing with Tenn. When he saw her, he dropped his pencils and rushed to her, hugging her tightly.

"Clem!" he exclaimed, burrowing his head in the crook of her neck.

"Hey, goofball," she whispered, kissing the top of his head.

"Hey, little man," Duck's voice broke their hug from behind her. AJ gave him a similar treatment, while Duck and Clem shared a look over his head. They'd agreed not to say anything about the couple they found at the house, so they told AJ all about the cool things they'd found before their encounter happened. Needless to say, he was excited to hear about their trip outside the safe zone.

Later that night, when AJ had already been tucked into bed, Clementine, Violet, Louis, Duck and Marlon sat on the bench outside the school. They had finished eating dinner, and were silently admiring the night sky. After a few minutes of silence, Louis cleared his throat.

"Alright, I think it's time for a little game," he said, producing a deck of cards seemingly out of thin air.

"A game?" asked Duck, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, a game," repeated Louis, evenly splitting the cards among the players. "It's called war, you know it?"

"Not the game," Duck said simply.

Clementine rolled her eyes and looked at Louis, "How do you play it?" she asked, receiving a glare from Duck.

"Easy. Highest card wins, winner gets to ask one of you guys a question," he explained.

"And what if one of us wins?" Duck asked, crossing his arms over the table.

"Then you get to ask us a question, it's only fair," said Marlon, while Violet and Louis nodded.

"Alright, sounds fun," commented Clem, while flipping the top card of her stack over: a two of spades.

"Hey, what do you know, I win," said Marlon, showing them his ace of diamonds. "So, Kenny. There's no way you've been alone this entire time. Who used to take care of you guys?"

Duck and Clem shared a look, and Clem nodded at him. Sighing, he reluctantly answered the question, "At first we had a small group, led by Lee and my dad. We survived for as long as we could, but fate has funny sense of humor, and we lost most of them on the way. Now it's just us and the little man," he finished bitterly looking away.

"Oh," muttered Marlon, pursing his lips, "Sorry, shouldn't have asked," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it," assured Duck, as they all flipped their cards once more. This time it was Duck's time to ask. "So what's the grossest thing you've ever eaten?" he asked, a morbid smile on his face as he started to relax around the other kids. Clementine smiled, trying to recall the last time Duck had actually smiled for real when AJ wasn't around.

"Easy, horse eyeballs," said Violet, cringing at the memory.

"Slugs," Marlon announced proudly.

"Cantaloupe," said Louis, scrunching up his nose in disgust.

"C'mon, seriously?" replied Duck, chuckling.

"Dude, I fucking _hate_ cantaloupe," Louis shot back, nodding.

"We ate a guy's leg once," said Clem, glancing sideways at Duck, who grimaced.

"Please say you're kidding," said Violet, frowning at Clem.

"I wish she was," said Duck. They all shuddered at the thought, and decided to blow past it, flipping the cards again. It was Violet's turn to ask them a question.

She looked awkwardly at Marlon, and mumbled for a second before saying, "Where are AJ's parents? You guys don't really look related, so, what happened there?"

"We met them after we were split up from a friend of ours, and we promised we'd take care of him before they died," Clem explained, glancing in the direction of the dorms, "they were good people," she added, closing her eyes.

After that, they kept playing for a while, asking random innocent questions in between laughs. Clementine was surprised to be enjoying herself, after the day they'd had. Marlon had freaked out when they mentioned their encounter with the couple, but relaxed when Duck had nodded and said he had taken care of it.

After about five more questions, Louis finally got the high card. He pretended to think about it, scratching his chin pensively.

"Just ask your damn question," Duck snapped, rolling his eyes at the boy's antics.

"Um," Louis stuttered, looking at Clem, "Ever – ever had a boyfriend?" he asked, taking her by surprise. "You can also answer, if you want to, Kenny," he added when he saw Duck's glare boring into his skull.

Clem glanced at Duck before rolling her eyes, "Nope, never," she replied, sighing.

"I find it hard to believe, but okay," said Louis.

Duck suddenly rounded on Clem and gave her a cheeky grin, "Poor Gabe, he'll be so disappointed," he teased, making her blush.

"Ooh, do tell," said Marlon, grinning in Clem direction. It was probably payback for commenting on his weird hair, Clem thought.

"It's nothing," she told them, but they weren't convinced, "he was just this dork who had a crush on me, and Duck scared him off," she explained, gesturing to a very smug looking Duck.

"What'd you do to him?" asked Marlon, now as intrigued as Louis, who was listening intently.

"I just told him, nice and calmly, that if he got close to Clem I'd break both his legs," Duck said with a deadpanned expression on his face.

At his response both Marlon and Violet laughed, and Louis gulped, sparing a glance for Clem. She, on the other hand, was glaring at Duck, oblivious to Louis's stare. Duck obviously noticed Louis looking at his little sister, but decided against his impulse to beat him up. He would respect Clem's decision; plus, he couldn't deny they _would_ look cute together.

After that, their card game wound to a close, with all of them going their separate ways to their respective dorms. When Clem and Duck got to theirs, Duck stopped her on her tracks and looked down at her.

"You sure about this?" he asked her.

"Sure about what?" she inquired, an innocent face beneath her bloodstained hat.

"You know what I mean," he told her. When she didn't catch on, he rolled his eyes. "Are you sure about Louis and you?"

"Duck, I don't even know what I want yet," she admitted truthfully. She actually _didn't_ , and it bothered her that he was pushing this hard on something that hadn't happened yet. "But yes, I'd like to see where it goes…" she trailed off, looking down.

"Alright, Clem," was all he said.

"Excuse me?" she was taken aback, to say the least.

"I won't stand in your way," he promised, crossing his heart, "You're a big girl, you can take care of yourself. Although, I won't say I'm happy about it," he added.

"Seriously, Duck," she teased, kissing his cheek and walking into their room, "when's the last time you were happy about anything?" Chuckling, he straightened his hat and followed her in.


	3. Part 3

"Come on, Duck, you can go faster!" urged AJ from atop the young man's shoulders. They were coming back from a hunting trip, and the boy had gotten tired. Clementine laughed from beside them, shaking her head.

"You wanna go next, Clem?" Duck called to Clementine, craning his neck so he could face her and groaning under AJ's weight. "I'm pretty sure I can still carry you."

"No, thanks," she laughed, waving him off, "I'm really not looking forward to breaking both my legs when you let me fall again."

"Come on, that was one time!" he countered, chuckling at the memory.

"It still hurt like a bitch," she reminded him, rubbing her back dramatically. She remembered the moment vividly: it was three years ago, and they were trying to stop AJ from crying. Duck had the brilliant idea to carry Clem on his shoulders like he had when they were younger. Unfortunately, he lost his footing and Clem plummeted to the ground.

"Okay, fair point," conceded Duck, nodding. He took hold of AJ's sides with both his hands and gently lowered him to the ground. "That's as far as I can go, little man. We're not far from the school anyway."

Pouting, AJ obeyed and fell in behind Clem and Duck, where Louis and Aasim walked silently watching the exchange between them. They'd been walking for an hour, having just found two sizeable litters of rabbits to bring back home. Clem was surprised when Duck and Louis had agreed that taking the rabbits, as opposed to letting them get bigger like Aasim said, was the smarter choice.

"Don't worry, little dude," piped Louis from behind them, "We'll be eating rabbit stew before you know it."

"Amen," cheered Duck, casting a sideways glance at Clem.

She turned to him, gaping, and whispered, "What's with all the camaraderie with Louis?"

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently, sparing a glance for Louis and Aasim, who were a few paces behind.

"You're being nice to him, for once," she commented, "I thought you hated his guts."

"What can I say? He's rubbing off on me," he shrugged. "Plus, if you're gonna start playing house with him; I might as well try to like him, right?"

"Playing house? What are you, six?"

"Seven, thank you," he corrected, chuckling.

Shortly after, the school gates loomed over them, Tenn sitting at the watchtower. Duck waved his arms at the boy and he called out to Violet, who opened the gates to let the group in. Louis and Clem raised their arms, showcasing their finds for the whole school.

"Dinner is served," said Louis with gusto.

"Dinner will be served when I say it is," Omar put in, taking the rabbits from their hands and bounding off to his cooking station.

"Someone's a little cranky," Louis muttered under his breath, winking at Clem. Though Duck visibly rolled his eyes at the gesture, the girl had the grace to smile back at Louis.

"Maybe he knows we won't be having rabbit for the next few weeks," Aasim suggested, crossing his arms.

"Dude, Clem and I survived without rabbits for years; I think you guys can make it a couple weeks," Duck countered, sitting down at one of the tables. The rest followed suit, Louis getting the spot closest to Clem.

"Kenny's got a point," Louis added, nodding at Duck. "It's not the end of the world not to eat rabbit."

"But it might be the end of our lives," Aasim muttered, frowning.

"Is he always like this?" Duck asked Violet, who sat beside Aasim.

"Most of the time, yeah."

"Hey!" exclaimed Aasim, a small smile tugging at his lips.

They all laughed and transitioned into lighter conversation. Although suspicious of his new attitude, Clem was rather glad that Duck and Louis were getting along. Like the previous days, they kept exchanging small anecdotes as they waited for dinner to be ready, and when it was, they enjoyed a hot rabbit stew.

AJ was the first to finish his bowl, sauce clinging to his cheeks, and he looked at Duck with a devilish grin. Opening his mouth, he let out a belch that silenced all conversation around them. Marlon and Violet chuckled, looking at AJ. Aasim and Mitch shared a look and stifled a laugh. Louis nodded approvingly at AJ and Omar – Well, Omar was just glad people had enjoyed his meal.

Clementine and Duck looked at each other and both raised an eyebrow. At the same time, they both burped in response to AJ, warranting laughs from all the other kids at the table except for Ruby. She stood up with an annoyed huff and bounded off to the admin building, muttering about bad manners.

For the following days, their meals were much the same as that one, filled with laughter and joy. Unfortunately, a week later, trouble came in the form of heated arguments.

"I told you we should have let those rabbits go!" Aasim was yelling at Duck in the principal's office. Marlon, Clementine, Louis and Violet stood silently to the side, watching the argument unfold with no clue what to say or do.

"Then we get fish," Duck suggested, throwing his arms in the air. "We can live without rabbits for a while."

"I already told you this afternoon," Aasim said irritably, closing his eyes. "The fish traps were destroyed by something or someone. We're not eating tonight without another solution."

"Damn it, we're gonna figure this out, Aasim," Duck replied, his fist slamming on the coffee table by the right side of the room. "We always do."

"Do we?" retorted Aasim, tilting his head mockingly. "I don't know about you, but not having a sustainable food source for twelve people isn't something we can just brush off! It's not a problem you can solve by firing your rifle at it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" inquired Duck angrily, his brow knitting closely and his eyes red from exhaustion. They'd had a long day so far.

"What I mean is, we're gonna have to solve this situation unless we want dead children on our hands," said Aasim bluntly, crossing his arms.

"Okay, that's enough!" Clementine snapped, bringing their attention to her. Despite her small height, her demeanor made her look more menacing than she was. "We're not losing more children!"

Aasim and Duck exchanged a look, but it was Marlon who spoke up. "Alright, we're listening. How do you propose to not lose more children?" he asked, looking at the rest for support. They all stared at Clementine, who huffed in annoyance and turned around, examining the map of the grounds.

"So the hunting grounds and fishing hut are out," she muttered, her eyes darting from one spot to the other. When she found her solution, her face lit up. "That's it!"

"Pardon?" Louis said, looking at Clementine with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"The train station," she said simply, pointing at it on the map.

"That's outside the safe zone," Violet pointed out, gesturing to the dotted red line surrounding the perimeter on the map.

"And extremely overrun," Marlon added, crossing his arms. "Do you know how big of an explosion you guys caused back there?"

"We're aware," Duck said from behind him, standing next to Clem and looking at the map. "You do know grenades explode, right?" he teased her, smirking.

"I know, dumbass," she replied, rolling her eyes. "But there was a shit load of food there, it's possible there's still some left."

"Are we really talking about leaving the safe zone?" Marlon asked from behind them. "It's not safe…"

"I think the name gives that away, Marlon," Violet retorted, sitting on the principal's desk. "I don't know, Clem. It might be a dead end…"

"But it might not be," she replied. Aasim and Marlon shared a worried look and Clementine huffed. "You said it yourself, we need the food. And if there's food in that station, we need it more than ever."

"I'm with Clem on this one," Louis put in, nodding. Duck took note of that, studying the freckled boy closely. "We might not make it through this week if we don't do something."

"No way, we have to find some other way," Marlon blurted, shaking his head vehemently.

"Seriously, dude?" Louis replied, crossing his arms. "Do you have any better idea?"

"It's not that, but you have to think about the last time we went out of the safe zone."

"That won't happen this time!" he retorted, frowning. "Clem and Duck can hold their own better than any of us," he added, nodding and smiling at Clementine. Blushing, she looked away and grinned. Rolling his eyes, Duck slammed his hands on the desk.

"So, what's it gonna be?"

Violet, Marlon and Aasim shared a look. After a moment of silent conversation, they all nodded in agreement to the plan. "Now, who's going on this mission?" Duck asked, clapping his hands together

"I say we leave it to chance," Louis said, grabbing a paper from the desk and writing all their names. "I say three people ought to do it, right?"

"That's actually very smart, Lou," Clem put it, offering him a reassuring smile.

"Uh, thanks," he stuttered, flustered. Rolling her eyes, Violet took the pieces of paper from his hand and mixed them in her closed hands.

"Let's see who's going on this suicide mission," Marlon said reluctantly, taking the first piece of balled up paper.

"I can't believe I have to stay here like an idiot," Duck complained, stacking three chairs together and sitting down on the couch outside the admin building with a huff. Louis plopped himself on the armchair beside it and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm here too," he assured him.

"No offense, but that's not very reassuring, Louis," Duck replied. Clementine, Violet and Aasim had left the school an hour earlier. AJ had insisted on going with Clem, and with Duck's approval, he joined her with the promise to keep her safe.

"Okay, ouch," said Louis, propping his feet up on a coffee table. "Don't worry, Violet won't let anything happen to Clem," he reassured the boy.

"That's not what I'm worried about."

Duck looked over the courtyard, the dim light of the setting sun casting huge shadows on the admin building. On the table by the watchtower, Tenn was drawing absently, the tip of his tongue out in concentration. Mitch and Willy were playing with the older boy's pocket knife, trying to get as many spins on their hands as they could. Marlon and Brody had retreated to the admin building, claiming they wanted to get some rest after a long day.

Louis was shuffling a deck of cards, flipping some of them onto the couch absently. Duck looked him up and down, wondering just what Clementine saw in this guy. He decided not to dwell on the why, and instead cleared his throat.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," he said, catching the freckled boy's attention.

"Sure, shoot," Louis encouraged, setting the deck on the coffee table.

"What's your deal?"

"I think you'll have to be more specific than that, Ken," Louis teased, testing the waters with the nickname. Though it bothered him, Duck didn't seem to respond to the shortening of his first name.

"What's your role in this community of yours?" Duck gestured to their surroundings as if to make his point. "Every group has its tasks divided by the people's strengths, so what category do you fall into?"

If Louis had been expecting that question, which he hadn't, his answer took a while to reach his lips. He frowned, searching for the meaning behind the boy's words, and coming up empty. "Uhh," he stuttered, his eyes darting to the admin building momentarily.

"I mean, Marlon's the leader, Omar's the cook, Violet's the badass loner – every group has one of those – so which one are you?"

"I see myself as a multilayered person," Louis responded, having formulated his answer somewhat. "If you ask anyone, though, I'll mostly fall into the jokester category."

"I have no doubt in that," Duck said, leaning back on the couch. "I have noticed that you don't really take shit seriously around here."

Louis frowned, looking down. For some reason, his palms were sweaty and he was once again out of words. It wasn't like Louis to be left speechless, but the line of questioning had become quite serious suddenly.

"I prefer to look at life like a series of moments, rather than a grueling experience you have to survive."

"How so?"

"Well, I believe the only thing any of us has is this moment," Louis explained, eager to share his philosophy with Duck. "And once it passes, it's gone. So why waste it surviving when you can be living."

"Some would say surviving is living now," Duck suggested, raising an eyebrow. No matter how much Clem had begged him to go easy on Louis, he had to admit it was rather fun to watch his expression waver at every loaded question. But this time, Louis was prepared.

"Perhaps, but the world can't get much worse than it already is," he replied, shrugging. "We might as well enjoy our time here."

Duck nodded, weighing the boy's words. They _did_ hold a truth to them, hard as it was for him to admit it. He stayed silent for a while, crossing his arms in the process and examining the receding sun in the horizon kissing the treetops. A bright orange hue lit up the sky, giving the impression that it was warmer than it actually was.

"So what do you think of Clem?" he asked suddenly, startling Louis.

"What about Clem?" he stammered, avoiding the smug expression that had settled on Duck's face.

"Dude, I'm not a dumbass," Duck reminded him, "I know you've got a thing for her. Everyone does."

"I don't–," Louis trailed off, frowning. "Alright, you got me."

Even though it was pretty obvious to start with, hearing the confirmation come from Louis's lips made Duck purse his lips. They heard a whimper from Mitch and Willy's direction and saw Willy sucking on a bloody finger and the blade lying on the ground beside him. With a concerned expression on his face, Mitch rushed into the admin building looking for Ruby. Louis turned to Duck again and sighed.

"I don't know what you're expecting me to say," he said warily, looking Duck in the eye.

"I want you to tell me what you're trying to achieve here."

"What else would I be trying to achieve?" Louis asked incredulously. "I really like her, and sometimes it feels like she might like me back," he added, cringing under Duck penetrating stare. Instead of beating him to a pulp, Duck grimaced and sighed.

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Excuse me?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think she might feel the same way about you," Duck conceded, fidgeting with his hands. "Not that everyone else hasn't noticed yet. She's just as obvious as you."

"She is?" Louis inquired curiously, thinking back to all the conversations he'd held with Clementine and looking for the 'obvious' signs. As he did, he absently started flipping the cards onto the table, smiling when one landed right side up.

"Unfortunately, yeah."

Duck looked at Louis, thinking about the possibility of Clem actually liking him back. For eight years she had been his little sister, and he'd always gone out of his way to protect her. But this time, he couldn't really protect her anymore. She was almost a grown woman , damn right capable of making her own decisions, thank you very much.

"Okay, listen," he said, pulling Louis out of his reverie. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but here goes: she has made it perfectly clear that I am not to meddle in her personal life, as much as I'd like to."

"Alright, that sounds like her," Louis said, nodding along.

"But I want you to promise me that whatever you do, you will never hurt her in any way, shape or form," he added, catching a card mid air and flicking it at Louis.

Louis raised his hands in defense and nodded, "I swear to god, I'd never do that," he promised, crossing his heart. "It's not that often that I find someone I like that might actually like me back."

"I can imagine," Duck teased, raising an eyebrow mockingly.

"Fair point, I'll give you that one."

"But just so you know, if you do end up hurting her," he said slowly, making Louis gulp. "Your legs are not the only body part I'll be breaking, you hear me?"

Flinching, Louis nodded vigorously. "Loud and clear," he said.

"Besides, if you did hurt her, I think you should be more scared of what she does than me."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Trying to lighten the mood, Duck extended his hand to Louis, who shook it. The sun had already set beyond the treetops, leaving the sky an empty void of stars. The full moon loomed above them, an ever watchful eye in the sky, as they both picked up the cards and started flicking them at the table. Duck didn't know if this was such a good idea, but for Clem's sake he'd try to make it work.

Barely twenty minutes later, they heard Omar's booming voice come from the watchtower. "Louis! Kenny! They're back!"

Both teens dropped the cards and rushed to the gate, seeing four figures emerge from the shadows of the trees. Louis opened the gate while Duck trained his rifle behind Clem and the others, looking out for threats. When they were all inside, he helped Louis close the gate back up and went to Clementine. Before he could, AJ's small shape darted to him, wrapping his small arms around Duck's legs, muttering something unintelligible.

It was then that he realized that both Clem and Aasim were carrying duffel bags. Confused, he looked at Clem for answers. She nodded at him and opened her bag, displaying for the rest a staggering amount of cans and other containers, filled with food.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, grabbing some of them and examining the labels. This would keep them fed long enough for the fishing traps to be set back up and the rabbits to return.

Hearing the commotion, Brody and Marlon rushed out of the admin building and ran to them. "What's all the ruckus?" Brody exclaimed

"We got food!" Aasim said, opening his own duffel bag and handing it to Marlon.

"Great job, guys," Marlon said, patting Violet on the back, who frowned.

"What's wrong?" Duck asked, seeing her expression. Before she could answer, Clem tapped him on the shoulder.

"There's a problem."

"What problem?"

Violet and Clementine shared a look, pursing their lips. In the end, Clementine spoke again, "We ran into someone."


End file.
